only love is not fate

LOVE GAME IN EASTERN FANTASY 永夜星河 (2024) Dir. Zhao Yi Long – Ep. 22

Hello! How are you doing?

So, what I do to make the background blend together with my subject is using color balance, selective color and choosing the right "tone" for the background color. If the picture/image you're using is too bright it will be difficult to use a darker background or if it's too yellow or green, there may be some colors that won't look that great.

Also, to make my job easier I tend to choose pictures/images that have good to decent lighting, so will also help when I remove the background and make the icon look more "smooth".

Another tip I will give is: pick the colors that are already on the picture/image to use as a background. For example, for the icon on the left I chose a pink shade from the darker side of her dress, in the middle i chose a lighter pink shade and for the icon on the right I choose a more lighter pink shade that is more grayish. (The image doesn't have any other filter/effect).

Also, one thing that helps me with choosing the color is knowing where the light is coming from. In the icons above, the light is coming from behind her so I think lighter colors suits best than darker ones even when I'm using a different color that is not on the picture itself:

After choosing the color you want, you can play with the adjustments and make the icon more colorful by using selective color enhancing the background and also the subject and color balance to "set" the tone. As well use levels and curves to bright the image or make it darker depending on the mood you're setting for you icon.

I also like to apply a white gradient layer to enhance the lighting and I think it makes the background more interesting, for example on the left icon I applied some adjustments but made the background solid and on the right I applied a while gradient layer coming from the left and above where the natural light was already coming from:

And that's it! Hope my answer helps you on your icon making!

Esther Yu as Ling Miao Miao Love Game in Eastern Fantasy 永夜星河 (2024) – Ep. 2